


Blood and Ink

by ismellitblue



Category: Black Lightning (Comics), Black Lightning (TV)
Genre: Angst, Disability, Emotional Hurt, F/F, F/M, Gen, Gore, Healing, Human Trafficking, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Major Character Injury, Multi, Murder, Redemption, Self Acceptance, Sort Of, Villain Family, wheelchair
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-23
Updated: 2019-06-23
Packaged: 2019-10-15 00:42:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 35
Words: 8,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17518955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ismellitblue/pseuds/ismellitblue
Summary: Lady Eve had been dealing with death for most of  her life-it would be  bad form if she  weren't prepared for her own  demise.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own black lightning.In fact ,i wasn't all that interested in the show(especially at the sight of black lightning's costume)-but out of boredom i gave it a try ....and was shook.

Evelyn was many things, but stupid  was not  one of  them.She’d known from the day she took Tobias under  her  wing that he’d  betray her.At first it  had  been cute to watch  him smiling,while his eyes  sang of her murder.

But then it had stopped being  funny when she realized he not only  had the claws to slit her throat-he also had the  balls to back it up.

She'd watched him grow,wary,but unwilling  to  take the first  step.Afterall,if  she  struck first,  he’d have  known she viewed him as a threat, and even if she were successful, he would have died the _victor_ -and she couldn’t  have that.Evelyn wanted to take  her time preparing his body,to embalm him at leisure,maybe she’d even add him to her collection-but  she  wouldn’t have been  able to  work on him properly if she'd killed him out of fear- _it had to be  for pleasure_.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don'town Black lightning.

_And  so the game began_.

When Tobias’ men came at her with their fancy little guns,she couldn’t help but  suppress a smile.

_Finally._

After years of waiting,she no longer  had to  hold back.The neck of the man she was holding snapped and she let the body drop.Moving behind a casket , she grabbed the back  of one of her  guards, and with a none too gentle nudge,he was standing.

Electric  fire wrapped around  him and she pushed him forward, using him as a distraction to get her  next victim.

He  went down easy,  and  with his gun in her hands she finished off the rest.

Turning slowly, she took a  look around the room…

Her men were dead-what a  hassle-obedience training  was  always  hard and it looked like she had to do it all over again-on the plus side, she  had people in  need  of a few organs.

An almost silent creak had her turning back,but she was too slow.The gun was already aimed.

Blue light  wrapped around  her, and  she  lost control of her  body.She didn’t even feel herself hit the  floor.

The  room disappeared around her, and she  knew what was coming.In a desperate attempt, she used all her might to clench her fist,the electricity  surging  through her  helped.

Every day since, realizing  that  Tobias  was dangerous,she’d applied an extract of a serum she’s created  herself to  her nails as a ritual.It  was meant  to  slow death (she’d run countless experiments, to test it out-those subjects had lasted a long  time-one old woman  had  kept going for a  week without  a heart).

But  seeing how, much damage she’d taken before being able to apply it(she’d always  given it  to her  subjects beforehand-she wasn’t certain it would work.

With that  thought her world faded completely and she was no longer aware.


	3. Chapter 3

She woke up…and was happy at first.

Then she noticed,one  very hard to miss fact- _she  was in a coffin_ -which  should be impossible.With her death slowed, paramedics  should have  been able to pick  up a  pulse.How could they  not  realize  she wasn’t dead, how could they-

An awful almost sweet stench,overcame her and   she could still smell it even when  trying to  hold her breath.Having been  around many bodies, she knew what a rotting human smelt like, and that was currently what she  reeked of.

…So she had been dead then.

Her hands flexed, and she  took a  moment to push aside  how strange  her body felt,it was soft  and mushy in places- _disgusting_

Fighting back  the  panic, bubbling in  her, she came up with a plan-a simple one.

_Escape._


	4. Chapter 4

In a way,Lala had been glad when Tobias had stuffed him full of explosives.

 _Finally_ ,it would all end…but since when had he ever been that lucky.

He’d woken up,high above the buildings of Freeland, and he’d been disoriented,flailing around until he’d realized he wasn’t actually falling.

A ghost then…

It had taken some getting used to,but once he had things had come easier.He’d been able to solidify himself enough to touch ground and start walking among the living.Startling badly when a few minutes later,a teenager had walked right through him, the only indication that the other had felt anything, being the way he suddenly shivered.

Everyone ignored him,and Lala didn’t mind that much, but what he did mind was that his cousin and Lawanda were still around(they’d made their presence known a short while after he’d started haunting the streets).

Lawanda came and went, but at least she  was almost quiet,  his  cousin on  the  other  hand  was a different  story.Will,just  wouldn’t shut  up-he talked  and talked-making  Lala want  to kill…

“You already did that,”The  statement  was  said  in  a carefree tone,that made the part of Lala that still had feelings want to curl up and never resurface.


	5. Chapter 5

During his endless walks,Lala had found Tobias many times, and the first few times he’d tried attacking the man,only to watch as his fists phased through him, with the other barely showing any discomfort at the cold.

After a while he’d stopped seeking the man out.There was only so much a soul could take.

He and his tagalongs took to haunting the cemetery,watching the almost daily funeral progressions(just how did Freeland still have people living in it with so many deaths?).

On night he was on the roof of a crypt,watching the stars and trying to block out Will’s babbling,when Lawanda came into being beside him, her eyes gleaming.

“There’s something happening in one of the graves”

It was the most exciting thing Lala,had heard in a while,so he got up without complaint and floated behind her.The grave they reached was unmarked-strange-but that wasn’t what caught his attention.The soul in front of the tombstone was moving,pushing outwards,as though somebody was trying to dig themselves out.

They stood around for what must have been hours(Lala hadn’t really been able to follow time since waking up),until whoever was buried there gave one final shove and the earth fell away, a hand covered in dark blood sticking out.

Whatever Lala had been expecting-Lady Eve,was   not it.She dragged herself from the grave and patted herself down with a disgusted look on her face.

After a few moments she stood, looking around, and then, much to Lala’s shock she looked right at him.

“So,Tobias once again sent a lackey,to get rid of me”She stood at her full height,head held high,tired,but obviously gearing up for a fight.But none of that mattered to Lala.

“ _You can see me?”_


	6. Chapter 6

Vengeance made for strange bedfellows.

She needed eyes and ears on the streets(dying had the side effect of leaving one without henchmen), and he needed a tether.Someone living to keep him from going insane.They needed each other, but neither of them were particularly happy about it.

At first,they fought constantly.Sniping at each other, with him rebelling whenever she asked him to do something.

“Don’t you _dare_ ,give me orders”

He had a problem with authority,and she was used to _being_ the authority.

As the days passed,they fought and fought, but neither of them ever left.He followed her to her safehouse mansion,at the edge of town,and when they came across people,he floated high up, directing her so that she wouldn’t be seen.

He showed no reaction to her rotting flesh, and even when she started pumping herself full of green light he did not comment.Simply finding places to haunt,around the huge house as her dead flesh fell off and new cells grew.

“Word on the street is Tobias is up to something,it has to do with the clinic” ~~She.~~ They’d decided to stay away from Tobias for the time being(there was a chance the man still had a connection to Lala,and neither of them wanted him to be controlled again), but people talked,and you could practically feel it in the air that something was coming-something big.

“Go and find out as much as you can,I’ll keep an eye out here”

It had been almost two days since he’d been gone, and in that time,she’d not only fully  healed.She’d started working on some projects-one did not go into war unarmed after all.

When he returned,she felt the chill in the air, and when he materialized, she did not greet him,waiting instead for him to finish his  conversation with his own ghosts,the ones she could not see.Once she saw that he was done, she nodded at him, and gave him a smile(manners were important,no matter the situation).

He did not comment, on her now fully living state,but she could tell he’d noticed(he couldn’t quite mask his jealousy).

“Tobias,has finally made a mistake”At that she perked up, putting away the serum she was working on,to give him her full attention.

“He decided to take out Painkiller-they boy’s not dead yet-but I could feel his soul fading”

“Do you mean that boy,with the power of snakes”Lala nodded, his form practically vibrating, and Eve gave him a genuine smile.

“How long does he have?”Lala paused at that, thinking back.

“He won’t make it to sunset”Nodding,Eve got up and grabbed her jacket as she headed for the door.

“We have to move then,we don’t have all day”


	7. Chapter 7

“His soul has loosened most of its hold on his body”

“Good,are you sure you can hold him when the time comes?”Lala had  only attempted doing so once,he’d held a dying woman’s spirit(she’d taken a bullet for her daughter-and that  had made him think of Lawanda), her body had still deteriorated, and when the  doctors had said she was brain dead-Lala  had let  her go.But with Lady Eve’s help,his second soul wrangling-might just be successful.

“Dr Frey, new arrival”Lady Eve,nodded at the tired looking young man,and made her way to the corpse that had just been wheeled in,and opened the bag.

Reverend Holt…Tobias had certainly been  very busy


	8. Chapter 8

As far as deaths  went,the Payne boy’s passing was peaceful(Lala had definitely had worse- _both_ _times_ -though he  hadn’t suffered as long as the kid).

“He sure is a wild one,are you sure you can hold him?”

“Will,shut up”He concentrated  on hanging onto  the ball of light in his hands.Since catching the soul as it  tried  to  leave the  hospital,he’d  been battling to keep it chained-it  wasn’t easy,and Will  wasn’t helping.

“It’s alright,you’ve got this”He struggled to keep solid,straining against  the bound lightning in his hands.

The front doors to the mansion opened, and if Lala still had a physical form,he’d have let out a breath of relief.Instead he floated closer  to the corpse Lady Eve had just deposited on the pre-prepared  table,and the spirit’s struggles instantly lessened.

The soul sensing something familiar.

“It’s about time,what took you so long?”She sent him a glare,before turning to the body and rearranging it.

“I was attending a  funeral,in case you’ve forgotten”

“It was very touching-they were all  so hurt,they didn’t stay long,so I had the pleasure of digging him up- _without_ assistance”She ended with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes and Lala kept quiet.

“The serum we dosed  the body with in the hospital morgue has done  its job-notice  how rigor mortis still hasn’t set  in”She gazed at the corpse with a look that made Lala uncomfortable,but he pushed the feeling down-Lady Eve was not  the type you showed fear to.

“Now I just have to fix his whole poisoning situation-Can you  hang on to his  soul for a few more hours?”Lala nodded,but she barely paid him any mind,already lost in her work.


	9. Chapter 9

The first thing Khalil had done  when he’d woken up..was _scream_.The shock of  realizing he  was  somehow still alive had worn off though,and since then,he’d been battling Lady Eve,trying to talk her into letting him go.

“When someone  brings  you back from the dead,the least you can offer them  is  a _thank you”_ Lady Eve looked  over  at  some particularly sharp instruments,  and  Khalil suppressed a shudder, trying to move  back, but his body refused to obey.

“You’re dead”He stated and she took a step back from  him, threw her head  back…and laughed.

“Hate to break to you,but to the rest of Freeland—you’re dead too”She picked up a mirror and brought it to his face, and Khalil startled at the  sight of his pupil-less eyes and too pale skin.

“You’re not exactly fit for  society anymore”

“Now,I can kill you again and  re-bury you without anyone knowing”

“Or you can join forces with me and help stop Tobias”

“And  after he’s dead?”Lady Eve gave him a smile,turning to look at something on her right,and for a moment,Khalil was certain he’d seen the flicker of a man’s shape,but it was gone too fast for him to be sure.

“Afterwards, I’ll let you die again”It wasn’t much of a deal,knowing that the outcome was his death,but Khalil knew it was the most he could hope for.At least this way,he could make sure that Jen would be safe even with him gone.

“I’ll join you”The woman stood, bringing her hands together with a delighted laugh(like they weren’t plotting murder).

“Excellent choice,…now,lets see about getting you walking again”


	10. Chapter 10

It had taken a few weeks  for Evelyn’s team to pull themselves together,introducing Khalil to Lala had been a fun experience.The boy had later admitted that he’d actually felt a presence in the room and had thought he’d been hallucinating, but all in all he’d taken _being a_ _zombie_ ,working with _a ghost_ and an _undead woman_ pretty well.

“How am I walking without the implant?And how come I don’t hurt?”The boy had many questions(why were children so curious).

“You’ve got a bit of my magic in you,that’s why”He clearly hadn’t been satisfied with the answer, but he’d kept quiet, and had gone on his rounds with Lala,gathering intel.

They finally had enough information ,for her to be comfortable moving into the next phase of her plan.

…Finally.


	11. Chapter 11

**LOCAL BUSINESS WOMAN BACK FROM THE DEAD**

**THE RESSURECTION OF LADY EVE**

**FREELAND SOCIALITE TURNS UP ALIVE AFTER BEING PRESUMED DEAD**

**DEAD WOMAN ASSUMED TO HAVE BEEN LADY EVE WAS HER COUSIN!**

Tobias watched  the headlines flash across the screen,with a sense of growing dread.He clicked on a video and was met with Lady Eve’s laughter as she conversed with a talk show host from a local TV station.

“This is bad Tobias”He glanced up at his assassin and Cutter met his gaze,trying and failing to disguise her fear.

“Thank you for your insight,I never would have realized that without you”He took a sip of his scotch trying to calm his nerves,but it  didn’t work and he threw the glass,ignoring the sound of it shattering and taking a piece of the wall with it.

_Why?_

‘ _Why did she come back?How did she come back?Was she resurrected?Who resurrected her?’_

Had she kept her status amongst the living a surprise,she’d have gotten the upper hand on him.But instead she’s chosen to go public.

**_Why?_ **

_‘What did she have to gain?What was her plan?’_


	12. Chapter 12

Peter Gambi sat with Jeff and his family, watching Lady Eve shed crocodile tears and thank the community for caring about her.When her almost believable thank you speech ended,Gambi switch off the TV and they all just sat around,staring at the blank screen.

“What does this mean?”It was Jen,who broke the silence.Her voice strong,a glaring contrast to the hollow shell grief had reduced her body.

In the past Gambi would have tried to sugarcoat it,but there was no way to sugarcoat what was coming.

“ _War_ ”


	13. Chapter 13

At first the deaths had  been easy to dismiss, a life of crime wasn’t exactly known to bring longevity to those who led it.Then pieces  of the 100’s top members  had started showing up around Freeland, and Tobias had realized Lady Eve was on the attack.

From then it became not only a matter of fighting her, but finding out who was part of her army.There were far too many bodies for her to be working alone.

“And?”He already knew the answer from the way Todd was shifting nervously, but he asked anyway.

“Nothing, all the  security feeds  in the area just go crazy,right before  someone is snatched”

“I’m able to make out a vague shape, but that’s it-there’s nothing else”Tobias stopped spinning around in his chair, and faced the hacker.

“Just one person?”The teen nodded and Tobias scratched at his beard.

This whole time he’d been going about it wrong,Lady Eve didn’t have an army,she had a henchman-one who was most likely a meta.

One man,  was easier to deal with than an army.They knew he was hunting them, they knew he somehow had a way of knowing where they were, and whoever it was skilled in combat.these were things that worked into the enemy’s advantage, but now that Tobias knew it was just one person-he could use them to _his_ _advantage._


	14. Chapter 14

Lala didn’t particularly like the kid,but he had to admit, the boy made for a good partner.He was light on his feet,agile, and surprisingly cunning.

They had a system,Lala went into an area first,he’d figured out a while back that his presence messed with electronics.Once everything was shorted,the real fun began.Lala corralled whatever idiots they were after, moving small objects around and phasing through them.

Watching the goose bumps form was always funny, but the screams they gave when Khalil finally showed himself were the best.

To be fair, the boy’s new zombie look was terrifying, but seeing as Lala didn’t even have  a body, he wasn’t one to talk.Some of their victims tried to fight, but the majority fell to Khalil’s venom before they even knew what was going on.From  there it was a matter of transporting them to Lady Eve(if they were lucky,Khalil’s toxins stayed in them while Lady Eve did her magic,letting them die terrified,but at least painfree-the unlucky ones however _did not_ have  the luxury of anesthesia).


	15. Chapter 15

Khalil turned  up the music ,but not  even his headphones could drown out the  screaming.Night after night,he  and Lala went hunting, and when they returned,it was to the sound of screaming.It never ended,whatever  Lady Eve had done to bring him back,she’d obviously used  it  on herself as well, because like him-she didn’t sleep.And that gave her endless time to work on their _guests._

It got them information, and it weakened Tobias’ hold on Freeland,but that didn’t mean Khalil  had to like it.

Getting up,he took off his shirt and made his way to the mirror,turning his back to it taking himself in with a side eye.There was no blood flowing from the wound(as expected seeing as he was now running purely on toxins), it was just a huge carven going down his back,with pieces of his spine(the original  damaged one) sticking out.

He’d gagged the first time he’d seen it, now it just served to solidify his resolve.He’d never be with Jen again,but at least she’d be safe.Shrugging  his  shirt back on ,he picked up his gauntlets, a few seconds later,the pressure  in the room changed and he knew he was no longer alone.

“Come on Lala,I’ll race you”A chill ran through him(something that should have been impossible seeing as no blood-meant a cold body), and with a smirk he opened the door to his temporary room.With any luck, they’d stop sending Tobias messages soon and take him on directly.


	16. Chapter 16

_An ambush._

They should have expected it, but with all their victories,they’d gotten complacent.Had Khalil still been alive, he was certain the bullet that ripped though his chest would’ve killed him, but as things stood, it only worked to alert him ,they had a sniper who was out of range of Lala’s reach.

Thanks to said sniper, the _bait_ , they’d followed into the building was running scared.Running all over the place, impossible to control as their fear of being shot like their friends,made Lala’s usual tricks redundant.Since Khalil couldn’t actually see or talk to Lala,that ruined their whole game plan and they couldn’t adapt.

Deciding that retreat was the best option,Khalil slipped into the shadows, slipping his hood lower as he blended into the terrified gang members.He’d almost made it out the warehouse door when a bolt of lightning blocked his path.

_Of course._

Turning he threw man beside him at the incoming superhero and fled up the stairs, only to have to dodge a thunder clap and bolt of familiar fiery lightning that had him pausing  for longer than necessary.

“Thunder, I can’t sense the one in the hood-something’s off about him”He almost called out to her,then and there,but an unnatural chill around his hand pulled him back to reality, and with one final stolen look(her costume looked really good on her),he leapt right over the sisters and threw himself out a window.Landing in the river below and letting the currents carry him.


	17. Chapter 17

“Evelyn, you have to stop”

“You’re destroying the ecosystem”Typical, the old man hadn’t even bothered to knock(though this time he hadn’t surprised her thanks to Lala warning her.

“On the contrary Peter, I’m weeding out the rot”She picked at the hand she’d recently cut off,considering whether or not to skin it.

“Now, stay out of my way, and I’ll stay out of yours-oh,and umm…keep your boy in check,or I’ll handle him too”She waited until Lala confirmed that  Gambi was gone, and he helped her remove all the bugs,her old mentor had left behind, before moving to the closed drawers and pulling one open.

Khalil,turned his head  blinking at the light and she smiled  at him.After digging out the bullet in him, she’d applied some salve,to close it up and leave no scarring, and for the salve to work,she’d had  _deactivate_ him for a bit.Now that he was fully healed, he was coming around again.

“Well, good morning sunshine,Lala tells me you two had quite a night”

“Tobias has finally come out to play,”She helped him sit up, and as he struggled off the metal table,she made  her way back to her latest cadaver.

 _“But I don’t play with little boys,”_ Tone cold, she slid her scalpel beneath the flesh, working deftly to  remove the flesh with minimal damage(peharps she’d make a mini skin  purse  to send  to the members of the Shadow board, a reminder to them to never think of dismissing them).

“Now boys,it’s time we paid Tobias a little visit-but before we do that, we first have to deal with Black  Lightning and his brood”

She  could see the protest at the tip of the boy’s mouth and once again she  smiled at him.It had the desired effect, and he held his tongue.

“Now,now, nothing sinister,in fact I want you to handle to make sure they’re not hurt”He nodded, obviously relieved,she nipped  the almost happiness she could blooming on his face in the bud.

“If you don’t do it properly, I’ll be forced to intervene-who knows, they’d make a lovely addition to my collection”He nodded again,but he  was more solemn, and she let him leave without incident.


	18. Chapter 18

“Evelyn,you’re breaking the pact”Uncle Gambi’s voice was calm and even.It was the same tone he’d used right before he killed Proctor,but Lady Eve didn’t seem to be intimidated.

“Calm down Peter, I’m not breaking anything,trust me,when all is said and done-you’ll thank me”Raising a manicured hand she made a gesture, and someone else stepped into the room, and Jen’s heart started working over time.

“ _Khalil_?”He stood  there topless,looking paler than she’d ever seen  him and paid her no mind,focused entirely on Lady Eve.

With renewed strength Jen began banging on the glass again, but still he ignored her,tapping away at something on the phone he was holding and showing it to Lady Eve.When their silent conversation ended,the older woman looked at them…and smiled(it made Jennifer’s skin crawl).

“ _Khalil,_ what a lovely name.That’s what he was called before isn’t it”

“Wh-”Before Jen could finish her question,the woman interrupted her,placing a hand on Khalil’s shoulder.

“Child,take  a look at our guests,do you know them?”For the first time,Khalil looked up at them,and all of them let out  a collective gasp.The warm brown of Khalil’s eyes was gone,replaced by an unnerving cloudy white that tracked all of them dispassionately.

There was no recognition there, only cold indifference and unblinking eyes on a familiar face-that stared right through her.Whatever the woman had done-the creature standing in front of them was definitely _not Khalil_.

“Child,go get ready,we leave shortly”When the thing that used to be Khalil turned its back on them and walked out.There was no way for Jen to stop herself from crying out at the sight of his torn up back, and once the first tear fell,there was no stopping the ones that followed.


	19. Chapter 19

After leaving the cells,Khalil leant against a wall,taking time to compose himself and block out Jen’s cries.

“It’s better this way boy,you get to kill Tobias,keep her safe, and now that she thinks you’re a mindless zombie…the memories your girlfriend has of you won’t be tainted”Lady Eve’s touch had too much force(and nails) to be comforting,but it served to ground him.

Pushing off the wall, he followed her,feeling the cold of Lala’s touch on his back…almost like a friendly slap.Readjusting his gauntlets, he grabbed a hoodie off a chair as he passed and shrugged it on.

With one final look at where his girlfriend was being kept,he turned to follow the others.His venom would only neutralize their powers for a few hours , and by the time it wore off,Tobias needed to dead.

He couldn’t shed tears anymore with his modified body,but when he walked through the door,he heard one final piercing wail from Jen,and his eyes stung something fierce.

Logically he’d known that was how she’d react, but deep down he’d hoped the last sound he’d hear from her would have been her laughter.


	20. Chapter 20

Decked from head to toe,in knives and guns, artfully concealed and with Khalil(who was also heavily armed) by her side Lady Eve stepped out of her car and took a moment to look at the warehouse Tobias was currently occupying.

According to Lala,it was swarming with armed members of the 100, and Tobias had his meta assassin with him.

“I think he killed the nerdy boy-not even Will and Lawanda can find him”It wouldn’t take long for them to lose the element of surprise-someone was bound to notice the cameras flickering only in one particular location.

“You ready boys?”Khalil nodded, and Lala replied by flying ahead.

Squaring her shoulders and taking a deep breath Evelyn walked to the enterance.

In her situation,others would have blown it off its hinges,or even thrown a grenade through the window,but Evelyn had been raised to have impeccable manners.

Instead of doing all that showy stuff… _she knocked._

….The doorman was dead the instant he opened the little sliding window.


	21. Chapter 21

 “Lady Eve, lovely to see you,had I known you were coming I’d have dressed better”Tobias readjusted his tie and smiled at her from his perch,all his goons having their guns trained on her and Khalil.

The boy shifted,and she stilled him with a gesture, nodding affirmatively when he changed the movement into just him pulling the hood lower on his face.

“Aah…Tobias,always such a charmer,you’ve even brought out _the help,_ to greet me”She looked down at herself,noting the multiple red lights all over her body.

“Come now Lady Eve,we both know how this is going to end-you and your one man army aren’t getting out of here alive”He laughed( a few snickers from his men followed) ,but Evelyn stood her ground watching him.

Something whistled in the air, and she turned ,twisting out of the way,her gun coming up and firing at the same time.A solid  form blurred in front of her just  as one of  the goons(one she hadn’t been aiming at,fell,a hole  in his neck-so the telekinetic had  decided to test the  waters).

Standing protectively in front of her was Khalil,and  though his help was unnecessary Evelyn found herself smirking internally at his loyalty.

Knife sticking out of his chest,Khalil faced down the assassin,who was staring at the blade buried in his sternum in shock.Collecting herself Evelyn let out a delighted laugh,she could almost taste the fear coming off of the wannabe thugs.

“Funny you should mention not leaving alive Tobias…”She pulled the knife out of Khalil,and he rolled his shoulders as she inspected the venom gleaming on the blade.

“…that would have been a valid threat except for one thing-me and my little army _are already_ _dead_ ”

Taking her words as a cue,Khalil pulled back  his hood and reactions were instant,with the foot soldiers tittering nervously,and the assassin looking ill(Khalil had mentioned  that she’d been there  the night  of his spine removal),but her favourite expression had to be Tobias.

He looked _murderous_ -and more than a little unsettled-seeing two of his murder victims at once could not have been easy-she almost wished Lala  were visible too,but his invisibility worked in their favour-he was flitting amongst the  thugs,unsettling  them as he waited for her signal.

Smiling sweetly,Evelyn finally decided to stop fooling around, and snapped her fingers.A chill swept through the room, as Lala laughed-a deranged mad sound,followed by multiple thumps as he pushed some of the men from their posts-Evelyn shot the falling ones midair,all of them getting a bullet to the head.

The fun had officially begun…


	22. Chapter 22

As the years had worn on,and the 100 had hunted down and obliterated most of the rival gangs in Freeland,they’d grown soft. Evelyn had watched it happen, observing the role Tobias played in it-culling the strongest members who posed a threat,and surrounding himself with the ones who didn’t question his authority.

He and Cutter might as well have surrounded themselves with sheep and ordered the flock to  act like guard dogs.

She was almost ashamed to be killing such weaklings,but seeing them scurry like roaches was somewhat amusing.

The more they killed,the heavier the air got,and she noticed that some died before either she or Khalil got to them.One idiot fell to his death before he could make the mistake of trying to lunge at her,dropping like a ton of bricks before he even finished the thought.

“Thank you Lala”She bit out as she tripped a would be assailant, and put a bullet between his eyes.

Tobias whirled then, looking around frantically and almost getting hit by one of Khalil’s darts.He dodged just in time,but Evelyn could see the way he was still searching for his former henchman, even as he was trying to find an escape route.Something that Khalil was doing his best to prevent,killing lackeys left,right and center.

The last to fall was Tobias’ right hand woman.Her body a crumpled heap at Khalil’s feet,her own knives sticking out of her chest.Something broke in Tobias then,it lasted only a split second,but Evelyn saw it,and it might as well have been blood in the water.

Stepping on bodies as she approached, she gave the man a warm smile that was all teeth and didn’t reach her eyes.


	23. Chapter 23

From the time he hung his best friend’s body in the school gym,Tobias Whale had been the bane of Lala’s existence.

_How did one stand up to someone who could make them do something so horrible?_

The man had stepped on Lala time and time again.Waiting for him to build himself up,so that he could crush him again.Yet watching the man’s downfall did not bring Lala the joy he’d always thought he’d feel at such a sight.

He watched as Tobias and Lady Eve fought,the man screaming in rage as he threw progressively sloppier punches and kicks,leaving himself open for Lady Eve’s attacks.She struck with him with terrifying precision,taunting the man the whole time.The whole thing was eerily familiar,it was pretty much the way all of Lala’s fights with Tobias had gone.

He floated down towards where Khalil was standing,watching the fight with a stony expression,the teen’s head turned in the direction Lala was in,and though he couldn’t be seen,Lala gave him a small nod in return,before turning back to the fight.

No sooner had he done that,Tobias made a fatal mistake.

He went for a punch,throwing his whole body behind it,and Lady Eve easily sidestepped, snatching his other arm and turning him so that his back was to her.In one quick movement she had him in headlock.

From then on it would have been easy to just snap his neck.But Lady Eve didn’t have it in her to be that merciful.Tobias clawed at her arm,his face going red,but she held on,squeezing tighter and tighter,robbing him of oxygen.

It took several minutes,but in the end the job was done.

The ball of light that came from Tobias’ corpse was the saddest thing Lala had ever seen.The spirits of the gangsters that had died earlier had been bright and energetic, dancing all over the place.Tobias’ soul on the other hand was a flickering light,missing in some places and struggling to stay afloat.Lawanda and Will cornered it, playing a demented game of ping-pong with the blighted soul.

Ignoring their protests Lala,grabbed it and crushed it,dark grey ashes falling about as the soul was destroyed.

Once again watching the last of Tobias’ ashes fade,Lala did not feel joy.The emotion that overcame him was one that would have knocked the breath out of his lungs if he’d still had a body.

_Relief._

Looking over at  Khalil,he saw the same emotion written across the boy’s features.Lady Eve  on the other hand,just looked like someone who’d crushed a roach with her shoe-happy,yet disgusted.

“Let’s go,the police are bound to be on their way”The moment Lady Eve,finished speaking,the distant wail of sirens reached them,prompting them to move.


	24. Chapter 24

The only body they ended up taking was Tobias.Lady Eve joked  about grinding his bones and sending them to her enemies(not funny-and more than a little disturbing),but in the end they ended up cremating him(in another one of Lady Eve’s secret houses,there was a huge chance the Pierces were now free and searching for them.They threw the urn into the river(not the most respectful burial,but it got the job done).

Watching the urn with Tobias’s ashes be carried by the current before sinking,was the closest thing their little group had to a celebration party.

Afterall,what did they really have to celebrate.Sure Tobias was gone,but most of their problems still remained.

Lady Eve’s former superiors didn’t want her(but at least they weren’t coming after her),Lala was still a ghost-being haunted by other ghosts to boot,and Khalil-he was still as dead as he’d been when the whole thing had begun.


	25. Chapter 25

 

The moment her power fizzled back into existence, Jen busted out of her cell, and let the rest of her family out,but by then it was too late.They found the police already swarming an old warehouse.Body bags lined the front of the old building,with more still being carried out.

Whatever battle had been fought,it was over,and though Tobias’ body wasn’t among the deceased, but Unlce Gambi told them he was  dead.

“He crossed Evelyn”The quiet certainty in his voice left no room for argument.

“What about Khalil?We have to find him,”

“Jennifer that wasn’t,what we saw is no longer hi-”Jen shook her head,cutting her mother off.

“I know Mom,I just-he deserves better-maybe if we can find him and give his body a decent burial-”The pitying look Uncle Gambi gave her had her pausing.

“The job is done.Evelyn has always been very thorough about such things.If she hasn’t already gotten rid of Khalil’s body,she’ll be doing it soon”Despite knowing that it was useless,Jen still tried to protest-and each time her family came up with , in the end she had to accept defeat.

“The last thing we need is a war with Lady Eve”Her Dad finally said,and that was that.

…The trip back home was one of the quietest they’d ever had.


	26. Chapter 26

“This is it huh?”The boy didn’t struggle,simply moving to lay on the metal table-bumping up the list of reasons why Evelyn liked him.

“You know,with Tobias gone, some idiots are bound to make a move on Freeland soon,I could use a right hand man”He shook his head,surprising her once again.

“Thanks for the offer Lady Eve,but I’ve had my share of this kind of life-it’s time for me to go”He’d have been a good asset,but Evelyn wasn’t one to beg,so she simply shrugged and went to get her equipment.Giving Lala,who’d drifted over,a chance to say goodbye, even though the boy couldn’t see him.

When she returned Lala placed a comforting hand on the boy’s shoulder before floating to the corner of the room.

“Will it hurt?”

“Normally,yes,but for you,I’ll make an exception”She slid a needle into his gray skin, and his eyes closed soon after,his body once again resuming the stillness of a corpse.

She reached for a saw to begin dismembering him, and for the first time in her life…Lady Eve hesitated.

Shaking her head to dislodge the strange feeling she made to take saw again,only to stop and stare at her hand… _her shaking hand_.

Feeling a headache coming on,she used the same hand to massage her temple before turning to Lala who’d been observing quietly.

“Watch him,I’m going to make a call”With any luck,Lazarus Prime would be willing to work with her.Complete reanimation had always been more his specialty,and right now she needed that particular skill set.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First i was just going to post daily, but i keep getting side tracked,so i'm just going to post the whole fic today.Happy reading everyone and thank you for the support.I do not own Black lightning.

For the longest time,Khalil didn’t understand what was going on.People came and went,moving around him.

There were whispers…

_“Miracle”_

_“Monsters…taking a poor child”_

_“How dare they…”_

_“My son-”_

He didn’t really understand, but there were gentle beeps lulling him to sleep so he didn’t really care.


	28. Chapter 28

ANOTHER FREELAND RESSURECTION

LOCAL TEEN FOUND ALIVE,MONTHS AFTER BURIAL

GRAVE ROBBING OR A KIDNAPPING?

From the moment Khalil had woken up in the hospital, there hadn’t been a moment of peace.Doctors were on him,poking and prodding.The police were on him, wanting answers to questions he couldn’t understand, and getting frustrated when he replied in the negative.

All he remembered was Cutter coming for him, there were flashes of Tobias, but otherwise everything was blank…he didn’t even remember how he’d lost his spinal implant.Every time he asked his mother,she just shut down so eventually he stopped bringing it up.


	29. Chapter 29

In a lot of ways, it was like going back to square one.Not only had he lost the ability to walk, Jen wasn’t talking to him again, just like when he’d chased her away, except this time, he was certain he hadn’t done anything wrong.

He’d only seen her once since waking up, hiding behind her father as Black Lightning talked to him-informing him of Tobias’ death, and wanting to know if he knew anything.

She’d given him the most heartbroken look as they’d left and it was enough for Khalil to know that something had happened.Maybe he really had been dead, like the news claimed, but Jen’s reaction and the suspicion in Mr Pierce’s eyes, something else had gone on.

If he really wanted, he could get in touch with Jen, sooner or later, she’d crack and tell him.Both of them were each other’s weak spots like that.But he didn’t want to ever use her,if whatever had happened was bad enough for her to cut of communication, then he had no right trying to force it out of her.Ignoring the ache in his heart, he stuck to ignoring her too, focusing on getting better.


	30. Chapter 30

A few days after being released from the hospital, Khalil started noticing the cold draft that seemed to pop up around him from time to time.

It  often came as he wheeled himself through the streets,trying to get home.The 100 were practically extinct(whoever’d taken them down had been thorough), but there were still a few idiots left, and some of them tried to cause him trouble, but they often backed off without reason, and Khalil would feel the air around him grow colder in those moments.

It became so common that Khalil began talking to the air.Sending out quiet ‘thank yous’ whenever his imaginary friend stopped confrontations from occurring.He knew it was all in his head, but he was almost certain that with each thank you, he felt a squeeze on his shoulder, like his gratitude was accepted.


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Black Lightning.

A few days after being released from the hospital, Khalil started noticing the cold draft that seemed to pop up around him from time to time.

It  often came as he wheeled himself through the streets,trying to get home.The 100 were practically extinct(whoever’d taken them down had been thorough), but there were still a few idiots left, and some of them tried to cause him trouble, but they often backed off without reason, and Khalil would feel the air around him grow colder in those moments.

It became so common that Khalil began talking to the air.Sending out quiet ‘thank yous’ whenever his imaginary friend stopped confrontations from occurring.He knew it was all in his head, but he was almost certain that with each thank you, he felt a squeeze on his shoulder, like his gratitude was accepted.


	32. Chapter 32

When she’d re-gifted him with his life, Evelyn had expected that to be the end of their alliance, and she’d even sealed away his memories for good measure.But the process of bringing him back had taken a lot out of her, it wasn’t like with all the others that she often brought back and discarded just as quickly, despite her best efforts…he’d grown on her.

Lala still checked on the boy, and he kept Evelyn updated. Even though she’d told him time and time again that she wasn’t interested,he still kept doing it.It might have had something to do with the way she always stopped what she was doing, no matter how important, to listen to his stories.

It was harmless, nothing more than a way to keep tabs on a former acquaintance. At least that’s what she kept telling herself until the moment she actually saw him in the flesh.She could hear over the top crying,one of the church elders had died, but her eyes on the boy, who looked incredibly uncomfortable and out of place amongst the old people.

His back was to her, and before she could stop herself Evelyn moved, her hands going around his chair’s handles and wheeling him back, the door of her office opened and closed before he even had a chance to react,sealing them away from the crying bunch.


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Black Lightning.

The instant his wheelchair stopped moving, Khalil turned  himself around, coming face to face with his possible attacker, letting out a relieved breath when he realized it was just Lady Eve.He didn’t know her personally, but she was well liked in the community, but he was at a loss as to why she’d pulled him into her office.

“Can I help you Lady Eve?”He tried to hide his nervousness, but somehow he doubted that had worked.

Instead of answering she gave him a searching looking, her shoulders drooping slightly when she didn’t find whatever it was, that she was looking for.

“You know,I promised myself I’d give you a new life, no strings attached.But it seems I’ll have to break that promise, because above all else,I’m a _selfish woman_ ,”Her tone changed towards the end, going cold and hard, her eyes turning to ice, and for the first time,Khalil found himself fearing someone more than Tobias Whale.

Her pearls clinked lightly as she moved towards him, and the back of Khalil’s wheelchair met with the closed door as he tried to move back.A surprisingly strong manicured hand wrapped around his wrist and Khalil was almost pulled out of his chair.

Cold brown eyes met his as Lady Eve touched her forehead to his.

“ _Memento Mori_ ”

The whisper sang through his mind,the words embedding deep into him, and like a flood,memories Khalil hadn’t even known he had overwhelmed him.

When the storm abated, he realized Lady Eve was kneeling in front of him, the coldness of earlier gone, her gaze looked softer, almost…fond.

He gave her small smile, wiping away a stray tear.

“ Lady E,”She gave him a light tap for taking liberties with her name, but she didn’t actually seem offended.She let go of him as she got to her feet, and a cold chill settled around Khalil’s hand.

“Lala!”A laugh escaped him at finally being able to name the cold breeze that he’d been feeling for weeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Memento Mori-Remember death.


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Black Lightning.

She could have asked for anything- _ordered_ him to do anything.Come back to working for her, become her spy, but looking down at him she found that none of that appealed to her.

“I want updates on how you’re doing…given weekly,preferably over a meal,”Khalil started to smile at her, but then he paused.

“Won’t people get suspicious,Black Lightning might think I’m stepping out of line again”

“Not if you work here,I’ve been looking for an apprentice- top side business only,”He nodded intantly, not even hesitating.In all her life no one had ever trusted Evelyn like that-with good reason too.But it was still refreshing,how could Tobias have been foolish enough to abuse such loyalty.

“There’s,uhm, there’s someone I want to see, but I can’t if I hold all this from them,Can I tell them?”Only years of etiquette lessons stopped Evelyn from rolling her eyes.

“You may tell Black Lightning’s youngest daughter,”His eyes widened at how easily he’d been caught out.

“But, there are certain things that remain, between the three of us, _understood_?”He gripped his push-rims,giving her a slight nod before coming towards her,his hands raised.

Outside of social functions with the press present, Evelyn rarely ever did hugs, but she decided to indulge the boy,bending to let his arms come around her neck as she hugged him back.When he left,she found herself wiping a stray tear, mad at herself for smudging her makeup.

“You have a soft spot for that boy,”She threw a book at Lala and watched it pass through him, landing on the other side of the room.

“Shut up Lala,you’re one to talk, which one of us has been following him around like a guardian angel?”

What the three of them had was bond forged of blood and sealing souls.It wasn’t something you could put down in ink, but it was a whole lot more binding.


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Black Lightining.

In the past,Khalil would have ran all the way to Jen’s house and they’d have sat on  the roof to talk things out…those days were over.He settled into his bed, dragging himself upwards until he was seated.He fiddled around with his legs, pulling his pajama pants to adjust them before throwing a blanket over them.

He stopped all movements, listening, there was no sound from beyond his door, so his Mom was definitely asleep.Finally done with wasting time, Khalil grapped his phone from beneath the pillow and dialed Jen’s number before he could talk himself out of it.

It rang for a few heart stopping seconds, and Khalil was just about to forget the whole thing, when he heard her voice from the other end of the line.

“Hello…”Taking a deep breath,he steeled himself,and threw caution to the wind, if he didn’t at least try, he’d never know.

“…J,...It’s me…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for your support,it really meant a lot to me.Special shout out to Ejmcmoon, your support was highly appreciated.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudo,comment tell me what you think.Happy reading


End file.
